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Two high profile studies released this week by the National Petroleum Council paint a portrait of an industry asserting a positive role in the energy transition but struggling to act on what good science demands of it. The studies — one on natural gas, the other on hydrogen — were produced at the request of …

Statement of Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities

A new report released Wednesday, April 24, 2024 by the Environmental Defense Fund traces the growth of mega-warehouses in Illinois communities, driven in-part by the e-commerce boom.

“An Ocean of Potential” was the tagline at this year’s Our Ocean conference in Greece on April 15-17. The phrase encompasses the breadth of possibilities that the ocean holds for us. It also encapsulates EDF’s approach to supporting climate-resilient fisheries and oceans. What do we mean when we say that there is “an ocean of …

Increases in gas fuel costs account for 67% of residential retail rate increases since 2017 in parts of Duke Energy’s North Carolina territory — 46% in others.

AAAS has honored EDF Chief Scientist Steven Hamburg with a fellowship

We need nature-based climate solutons to work. Yet as a recent study shows, questions remain on how we can achieve the best ground-level outcomes and maximize the enormous potential of these solutions to lower greenhouse gas concentrations.

New Mexico’s rivers are under severe threat, further endangering already strained ecosystems, drinking water sources and livelihoods across the state, according to a new report. The state’s rivers now collectively rank as the most endangered in America according to new analysis released today by American Rivers.

By Anna Lóránt  The EU is striving to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. As one of the fastest warming continents in the world, with climate risks threatening its energy and food security, ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, financial stability and people’s health (EEA, 2024), ambitious climate action is a necessity.   It’s clear that the …

A new interactive map can help you identify potential chemical exposures in your neighborhood.

By Rod Fujita and Kristin Kleisner  To mitigate climate change, sea level rise, and other environmental problems, some experts are looking to nature-based solutions. But which solutions are the most impactful when it comes to sequestering carbon? And what do we still need to learn to improve our scientific understanding of nature-based solutions?   We co-authored …

This blog was co-authored by Maureen Lackner (Senior Manager of Economics and Policy Analysis, Environmental Defense Fund) and Lauren Beatty (High Meadows Postdoctoral Economics Fellow, Environmental Defense Fund). Climate change is a pressing issue, partly fueled by methane: a greenhouse gas responsible for about 30% of today’s global warming. Reducing methane emissions will slow down …

As temperatures get hotter and hotter from climate change, the cherry blossom trees have been blooming earlier and earlier.

(This blog was co-authored by EDF Climate Scientist Fiona Lo) Washington D.C.’s famous cherry blossoms are once again blooming earlier than expected.   In fact, this year’s peak bloom occurred two and a half weeks earlier than the average over the past 100 years, due to near-record warm temperatures in March.  This ranks as the second …

This post is authored by Mark Moroge, Vice President of Natural Climate Solutions at Environmental Defense Fund. We know that nature-based climate solutions are among our greatest assets when it comes to tackling climate change. Conserving, restoring and improving the management of nature – alongside reductions in new fossil fuel use – can provide at …

The world needs nature-based climate solutions (NbCS). These approaches use conservation, restoration, and management of natural and agricultural systems to retain existing, and sequester additional, carbon while reducing emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. NbCS have been suggested to meet 20-30% of the world’s climate goals. Correspondingly, nature-based actions are included in the national …

A new peer-reviewed study finds that four nature-based climate solutions have robust scientific foundations, while others need urgent additional research before their role as a climate solution is understood.

A new study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Institute for the Environment, Boston University School of Public Health and the Environmental Defense Fund finds that pollution from oil and gas venting and flaring results in $7.4 billion in health damages, more than 700 premature deaths and 73,000 asthma exacerbations among children annually.

In 1856, Eunice Newton Foote discovered the heat-trapping effects of carbon dioxide — but her contribution to climate science was overlooked for more than 150 years.

This past August, in southern Ecuador amidst dense mangrove forests, scientists were at work. As I followed in her footsteps, Julie Shahan, a Stanford University Ph.D. student, navigated the challenging terrain, burdened by the large 25-pound piece of equipment on her back. This equipment, a gas analyzer, collects measurements to unlock the secrets of soil …

First satellite developed by an environmental non-profit will see methane emissions others can’t, paving the way for heightened accountability and faster reductions

Just after 4:00pm Pacific Time today MethaneSAT effectively detached from SpaceX Transporter-10 that carried the emissions monitor into space.

For the finance sector, MethaneSAT satellite data will enable a step change in oil & gas risk and performance evaluation.

MethaneSAT will partner with Google to map leaks from the oil and gas industry and beyond, Nature reports.

The New York Times reports on MethaneSAT, the game-changing satellite developed by EDF, with partners. “There will soon be a new eye in the sky that’s designed to detect emissions of methane, an invisible yet potent gas that is dangerously heating the world,” the newspaper reports.